StevenGuthmiller

Thank you! Steve

Try one of the UV light setting glues like "Laser Bond". It works fantastic! squeeze a little directly from the tube onto your gauge face, make sure there are no bubbles & zap it with the light &, viola! instant lenses. I used it for my '69 Coronet & it worked better than I could have imagined. Steve

Modelhaus did exact replicas of the Satco wide whites, minus the center "cross". I believe the reason Modelhaus was "allowed" to produce them was because the were given the ok from whomever had the rights to them. That tells me that American Satco is no longer & will probably not return I wish someone was still producing them. They were my absolute favorite tire! I think I still have at least a couple of sets left from Modelhaus. I'm saving them for a "special" occasion! Steve

The Testors is basically lacquer in name only. It's not nearly as hot as an average lacquer. I've used it many times over enamel paints with no issues. You can use it over virtually anything. As long as your trim paint is thoroughly cured you won't have any trouble. Steve

The Revell kit body never looked right to me. I'm not real good at these comparison photo things, but I'll try. Tell me if I'm wrong. Both the front & rear fenders look way too "blocky" & "stumpy". The AMT fenders come to more of a point, which looks much more correct to me. The one molded in white is the Revell kit. The tan is the AMT example. In this photo you can see how the rear quarter on the AMT kit "tapers" to the rear. The Revell kit seems to have no shape at all. The roof looks strange to me as well. The C-pillar looks too thick on the Revell kit & the top looks too rounded. In this photo you can see how much "thinner" the top looks on the AMT kit. Likewise, the "creases" in the Revell top seem too pronounced making it look more like a convertible top than a hardtop. Overall the AMT kit just looks "sleeker" & true to form. The Revell kit looks weird to me. I don't see '63 Impala when I look at it. I started messing around with this AMT '63 quite a while ago & started the process of using the newer AMT '62 Belair Chassis & engine compartment. If I ever resume work on it, I have a head start. I doubt very highly that I would ever build the Revell kit due to it's short comings. Steve

I wish it was Gene! I'd be out cruising right now instead of typing with one finger! Steve

As I see it, he's moved on to a better place. Nothing to do but build models! Rest in peace Harry. Steve

Thanks everybody! That's going to be the 10,000 dollar question! All of my "vintage" kits are in plastic display cases, so at this point I'm thinking that I may remove the hoods, wrap them & box them up & then I may drill some holes in the display bases & wire the models to them for transport. I've already decided that they will make the trip in my car, whether it's in the back seat or the trunk. They will probably ride better on the flat surface of the trunk floor. Oh, that makes sense. My hands are still steady enough & my eyes good enough at this point to make it work, so for the foreseeable future, I'll continue to do them that way. Steve

Thanks Mike! That means a lot to me. It will be nice to possibly have some contact with some local hobbyists. I don't know a single soul in Rochester that builds & I've lived here for 30 years! Of course, that may be more my fault than theirs. Steve

Thanks Ray! I went back to look at your '63 again to refresh my memory. Very nice! After my original attempt to paint it turquoise, I seriously considered white for mine as well. But I decided that black with a blue interior would be a little bit more unusual combination. Steve

Thank you very much Chris! Steve

Thanks John! I toyed with doing the background on the finned quarter panel & trunk trim in black, but I decided it would look a little less "stark" in a dark pewter gray. I used the same color for the background of the wheels. I used a gold Sharpie for the "BONNEVILLE" scripts all around. Steve

Thank you! Not wire wheels though. These are the factory "8 Lug" cast wheels which were prevalent on the big Pontiacs throughout the '60s. Steve

Thanks Bill! I get heart palpitations whenever I think of moving all of the junk from one house to the next!! I hate moving more than a proctology exam! That's one of the reasons why this will only be my second move in over 25 years. I have a couple of '64s waiting in the wings as well, but the '64 Poncho I'm really looking forward to is a '64 Grand Prix! Steve

My stash stopped at '62 too Bill........for a while! Now it stops at around 1970. Steve

I would guess that it's probably the Surf Foam Blue. When I posted originally, I didn't realize that Ford had so many light blues in '60. I was thinking that Aquamarine was probably the only one. As a rule, you only had one of this type of blue as an option in a given year. The "Diamond Blue", also called "Platinum" for the Lincolns, was only available on Lincoln & Thunderbird in '60. This is a '59, but Ford used this exact color all throughout the 60s. Steve

Could be. They were pretty close. This is "Aquamarine". Steve

Just a few outdoor shots. A little sunlight helps accentuate the paint a bit. Steve

Very nice Bill! I wonder how popular this "Aquamarine" color was back in 1960. It's absolutely popular with us modelers! I built the new AMT Starliner sometime back & painted it Aquamarine. It seems 75% of all of the '60s that I see are this color. I guess this body style just screams light aqua! Steve

Nice work Dominik! The Seafoam Green is a great color for it! Steve

I agree completely. I can't remember the last time I built a model that didn't have at least one minor flaw in it. When you're a perfectionist, it's hard to get past them sometimes, & it can discourage you from wanting to continue on with the build, but I find that once you move on from it, you'll barely remember that it's even there. Steve

Yes, Hawley is right on highway 10 about half way between Moorhead & Detroit Lakes. Steve

Thanks Wayne! My wife, son & daughter were all in the Fargo area today looking at houses. Seems we may have already found one. We plan on making an offer tomorrow. It's in a small town about 20 miles east of Fargo/Moorhead called Hawley Minnesota. It's a pretty nice 1400 square foot walkout rambler built in 2003. The selling point for me was the 3 stall attached "heated" garage plus another 1 1/2 stall garage in the back yard! Plenty of room for all of the toys! It's nice to hear that Fargo has a decent hobby shop! We haven't had a good one in Rochester for probably 15 years. I chuckle a little when I think of the one hobby shop that there is in town called "Everything Hobby". Yeah right, as long as "everything" includes nothing but radio controlled stuff!! I think they might have 25 kits in the store & virtually no supplies. Hobby Lobby has a much more extensive selection. I was hoping to make the NNL this year again, but it's beginning to look like it will most likely fall right smack in the middle of all of the turmoil of the move, but it is in the back of my mind, just in case. Steve

Thanks everyone! Thanks Curt! I'm not planning on going anywhere in that respect! I will definitely at least be "lurking". I worry sometimes because the last time we moved back in 2001 it was the beginning of a long 10 year hiatus! I don't want that to happen again & I know that just the fact that I have the support of a lot of new friends on the forum will be an inspiration to keep me going. That & the fact that I have a whole shop full of vintage kits that I'm just itching to build! All of the great comments that I receive every time I post a new build are a huge motivation to me & I thank you all immensely! Steve

I was thinking the same thing Richard. It would be fun to at least give it the old college try! Steve